The Government of India has issued the Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects in April 08. These guidelines have several newer elements and benefited from various field level experiences and advocacy efforts in the country. To improve the efficiency of the project management, newer institutional arrangements are proposed including National Rainfed Areas Authority (NRAA) State level Nodal Agencies and so on. Given this background, WASSAN and ForWaRD (a collaborative initiative of SOPPECOM, GIDR and CISED) came together on the basis of a shared understanding and commonly agreed upon objectives to organize a national workshop on "Normative Concerns, Challenges and Opportunities in the New Era of Watershed Development Projects in India" on 18th and 19th Sep 2008 at New Delhi. Main objectives of the proposed workshop: * To create a shared understanding on the important provisions of Common Guidelines for Watershed Development Projects in India * To identify spaces and opportunities to support the implementation of the new Common Guidelines keeping in view the shared normative concerns and develop partnerships for better implementation (in terms of piloting some innovative projects), research (including action research) and documentation, set up protocols for participatory monitoring, training and capacity building and advocacy and outreach * To develop strategies of partnership within NGO/CSO and along with State Departments/ Ministries at various levels Access the Workshop Brochure here: Normative Concerns, Challenges and Opportunities More information & sponsor details available here: WASSAN Workshop